Tubular lantern.



A. R. PRITGHARD.

TUBULAR LANTERN. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23, 1911.

1,026,699. Y Patented May 21, 1912.

ALBERT R. PRITCHARD, ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

TUBULAR LANTERN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 23, 1911.

Patented May 21, 1912.

Serial No. 604,290.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT R. PRITGHARD, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tubular Lanterns, of which the following is a specification.

One object of the present invention is to provide a tubular lantern with simple and convenient means for retaining the bail or handle in depressed position.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide a lantern with a resilient wire bail and with bail-lugs or bearings to which the ends of this bail are pivot-ed, these hearings being of such form that the bail, when released, acts automatically to raise itself to upright position ready for convenient use. Under certain conditions of use, however, it is inconvenient to have the bail standing in upright position, and I have devised, therefore, a simple and convenient arrangement by which the bail may be retained, when desired, in depressed position. To this end I make the bail of such length that when depressed it will pass over the upper surface of the oil-font, and upon the latter I provide an abutment, or detent, over and within which the bail may be sprung, this detent acting to retain the bail in depressed position until it is released therefrom by the user of the lantern.

Another object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive construction by which the air-tubes of the lantern may be firmly secured to the lower edge or the skirt of the dome or top of the lantern, thereby reinforcing the lantern at what has previously been a weak point in its construction. To this end I employ an integral member which combines the functions of a reinforcing-member and of a bearing-lug for the bail, this member being formed to straddle the air-tube and having inner extremities bent to form hooks by which it is fixed to the dome.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side-elevation of a tubular lantern embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a front-elevation of the upper-portion of the lantern, illustrating particularly the combined reinforcing-member and bail-lug; and

the lantern is provided with the usual dome 4 having a flange or skirt 5 atthe bottom. The lantern has also the usual air-tubes 6, oil-font 7, and hail or handle 8, the latter being formed of resilient wire.

The bail is provided, at its ends, with eyes 9 which are looped through the bearinglugs 10 by which the bail is pivotally secured to the lantern. These bearing-lugs are in clined, as shown particularly in Fig. 2, and the bail tends to spring outwardly at its ends. Through this arrangement the bail, when in depressed position, tends automatically to elevate itself into substantially up right position, owing to a cam-like action of the inclined surfaces of the bearing-lugs upon the eyes 9 of the bail. This arrangement is not claimed as a part of the present invention. A feature of the invention, however, consists in the provision of means for preventing the bail from rising automatically when it is desired to retain it in depressed position. To this end the bail is made of such length that it will just pass over the upper surface of the oil-font, as shown in Fig. 1, and upon the oil-font I provide a projection or detent 11, which may be formed by pressing the sheet-metal upwardly in the stamping operation by which the oil-font is constructed. This detent 11 is of smoothly-rounded form, so that the bail may be sprung over it without difficulty, but it acts to retain the bail in depressed position until released by the user. This device is particularly applicable in connection with the use of upwardly-extending bearing-lugs for the bail, such as those described and illustrated, since the use of these bearing-lugs provides pivotal bearings for the bail at a higher point than where the bail is pivoted, in the ordinary manner,

to the air-tubes, and thus a bail may be conveniently used which is suiiiciently short to pass over the oil-font, as described, while at the same time the bail, when extended upwardly, is long enough to permit the lantern to be carried on the arm of the user without bringing the heated top of the lantern too near the arm.

To combine, in a single integral member, the functions of the bearing-lug for the bail and reinforcement to connect the airtube with the dome, I employ, preferably, the construction illustrated, in which the bearing-lug is formed of wire, this wire being bent into a loop 10 constituting the lug, and being then twisted at a point 12. From the point 12 the wire is bent outwardly and then in parallel positions to form two legs 18 which straddle the airtube 6. The inner extremities of the legs 13 are bent downwardly so as to form hooks which engage perforations in the flange or skirt 5 of the dome, where they are preferably soldered in place. The legs 13 are soldered to the air-tube, and the air-tube is thus firmly secured to the lower edge of the dome, thereby greatly strengthening the construction of the lantern at what is ordinarily a weak point.

By forming both the bearing-lug and the reinforcing device of a single length of wire I produce a simple device adding little to the expense of manufacture of the lantern, while greatly increasing the strength of its construction.

I claim r 1. The combination, with the dome, the air-tube and the bail of a tubular lantern, of a member comprising a single length of wire looped at the middle to form a bearing-lug to which the bail is pivoted and extending inwardly from said lug upon each side of the air-tube and thence directly to the skirt of the dome, the ends of the wire being bent to form hooks which are fixed in the edge of the skirt.

2. In a tubular lantern having a self-elevating bail, an oil-font provided with a detent-abut1nent on its upper surface, the bail being of such length as to swing over the upper surfaceof the oil-font andto engage said abutment resiliently so as to be retained in depressed position thereby.

ALBERT R. PRITOHARD. Witnesses CLAUDE S S. SMITH, FARNUM F. DORSEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

